I needed just one number to mark my progress. But that one number proved to be more elusive than usual.

What was my body fat percentage after 20 months of Project Bulk?

Lakeshore Foundation no longer offers Bod Pod assessments, only DEXA scans ($150). Even if they were free, I wouldn’t change measuring tools midway.

Both remaining Bod Pod machines in Birmingham — at Samford and St. Vincent One Nineteen — were broken, with no repair dates in sight. This was getting ridiculous.

I tracked down three more scanners in Alabama: at Auburn University, Alabama State University in Montgomery and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Fortunately, I was headed to Auburn earlier this week on business.

The one at Auburn? For students only. The one in Montgomery (a short detour on the way to Auburn)? The technician retired, and no replacement had been trained or hired. Really?

Early this morning, I drove to Tuscaloosa to last remaining Bod Pod in state available to the public. I desperately wanted to know my number.

It was worth it.

After an unhealthy score of 26.8 percent body fat in September, I’m down to an incredible 15.7 percent.

Chart: Body fat percentage – September 2012 to May 2014

That score is in the excellent range for my gender and age group.

Chart: Body fat percentage ranges for men and women

Over 20 months, I’ve gone up and back down in weight. Today, I’m the same weight as I started, 121.6 lbs.

But I’ve lost 9.5 lbs. of fat and gained 9.3 lbs. of muscle. I’m stronger than ever, and I’m on a diet that’s easy for me to follow and maintain (though I might be a little less strict in the future).

I’m proud of how far I’ve come. I’m no muscled stud, but I am much healthier in strength training and nutrition. I can easily keep this pace, though I do need to shoot for more (empty) calories in maintenance mode.

If someday I choose to bulk up by working out more, I know I can do it. I’ve done some of the hard work already, simply by getting started.

I’ve completed Project Bulk, which means quietly updating my spreadsheets but no more selfies and no more regular posts.

I do hope you’ll check out “The 4-Hour Body”” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links] by Tim Ferriss, the book that showed me the way and gave me ideas, inspiration and options for keeping this fun and manageable.

Good luck on your own self-improvement projects!

I’m going to go celebrate with a bowl of beans.

[Click images for larger versions]

•

April’s average workout time was 25 minutes and 56 seconds.

I averaged 2,200 calories a day in April. I also had 132 g protein a day on average.

The project has cost me $807.30 so far. I spent $41.78 less on food in April compared to previous monthly averages.

I’m happy with my results so far. I bulked up quickly. I worked out minimally. I reduced body fat percentage easily.

Each stage has been fun and challenging and ultimately fruitful. I even hit a new milestone on Saturday: 5,000-plus calories. I can eat a 12-inch pizza solo in one sitting. In 30 days, I’ll know if my body fat percentage has plateaued or dropped further.

But I feel I’ve failed in one key area, an area that shouldn’t really matter. But it still gnaws at me.

I haven’t convinced anyone else to take the plunge. Not a single soul has given it a shot. To me, that’s failure.

I don’t preach this diet and workout routine as the gospel. I know it works on me, but I’d like more data. One person is an anomaly. I can safely say that I can add and shed weight with sustained, applied effort.

But I’ve never struggled with obesity or trying to lose pounds. I haven’t wrestled with other diets, or denial, or exercise, or temptation. I will admit that this experiment has been rather painless.

You might try “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links] and fail. Or have mediocre results. You might write it off as another fad diet. You might dig in for a few weeks, only to gradually give into temptation or the simple distractions of a busy life.

I don’t know. I only know my journey, which has been well documented on this site.

I figured I get at least a few takers by this point. I know several acquaintances had been watching from early on, just to see if a skinny boy could actually bulk up. But no matter how the numbers have shifted up or down, or the photos have shown growth and reduction, it has been me and only me.

You might roll your eyes at this point, which is fair. I roll my eyes when I see friends hawking essential oils or studies that prove vaccines cause autism.

It’s fine to have a healthy sense of skepticism, especially when it’s the zillionth diet or exercise routine touted by friends and celebrities and kooks. Heaven knows my skepticism remains, and I’ve been the actual guinea pig for a year and a half.

I’m happy to have proven to myself that I could do it and that I got the results I wanted at each phase. I’d be happier to have some company, but I can do only so much heavy lifting.

•

March’s average workout time was 25 minutes and 55 seconds.

I averaged 2,192 calories a day in March. I also had 125 g protein a day on average.

The project has cost me $849.08 so far. I spent $37.70 more on food in March compared to previous monthly averages.

It can be challenging to explain Project Bulk to both fans and strangers. After all, I started out getting bigger, and now I want to be leaner.

In other words, my goal is 15 percent body fat for a healthier me.

The easiest way to show it is by using photos of me at my heaviest (Week 53), which happened to be with my highest body fat level. And then pick the week where my latest body fat measurement had dropped dramatically (Week 69).

Hopefully, this will tell the tale better than I can with mere words …

[Click images for larger versions]

•

February’s average workout time was 25 minutes and 5 seconds.

I averaged 2,258 calories a day in February. I also had 129 g protein a day on average.

The project has cost me $811.38 so far. I spent $55.06 less on food in February compared to previous monthly averages.

The good news comes first. I’ve lost an additional 5 pounds in January.

Weight through January 2014

I’m almost at my starting weight, but more importantly, at a healthier body fat percentage. This is a loss I can live (longer) with.

The bad news is that I said goodbye to Freshfully today, a business created by my friend Jen. I’ve known her a long time, and she will triumph again soon.

I remember her talking about the concept years ago, dreaming about a day when she could make it a reality. I remember when she and her partner started putting together the website, the branding, the entire business plan.

And how I remember the victories: winning huge contests, getting national media coverage, setting up and opening the retail store. I hope she savors those successes for a long time.

She won’t, though. Jen just can’t sit still for too long.

What we lose as a community is a place where food choices matter. Buying and eating food that comes from a single middleman means more money going to farmers, a smaller negative impact on the environment and a healthier populace.

In the 3 years Freshfully has worked to bring fresher local food to our doorstep, more options have arrived. That’s a triumph in and of itself for Birmingham, a place with a notoriously unhealthy citizenry.

My last 17 months have not meshed well with Freshfully’s mission. The first 12 were spent on protein shakes with bananas and protein bars. The last 5 have been invested in beans, lentils, frozen vegetables and piles of junk food.

In other words, I have not always put my money where my mouth was, at least where Freshfully was concerned.

But I still believe in local food. I still believe in healthier measures we can all take. And as always, I still believe in Jen.

I am lighter, but today my heart is heavy. I will miss our times catching up in her little shop in Avondale.

But I can’t wait to see what she pulls off next.

•

January’s average workout time was 26 minutes and 9 seconds.

I averaged 2,052 calories a day in January. I also had 128 g protein a day on average.

The project has cost me $866.44 so far. I spent $53.49 more on food in January compared to previous monthly averages.

I’m a believer. After only 3 months on the Slow-Carb Diet, I’ve seen great results.

Weight – Dec. 2013

I’ve dropped 11.5 pounds. I started out in September 2012 at 121.8 pounds, peaked at 141.4 pounds this summer, and am now at 129.9 pounds.

I’ve been less concerned about the scale reading and more concerned about my body fat percentage. The weight for a skinny guy like me had little bearing on my overall health, but my body fat level was cause for concern.

Body fat percentage – Dec. 2013

From today’s Bod Pod test, I am at a record low of 20.3 percent body fat. Wow!

I could hit my target of 15 percent by March. I started out at an unhealthy 23.5 percent in September 2012 and jumped to an even worse 26.7 by April 2013. (It was about the same by Aug. 30.)

So, in just 3 months, I decreased my body fat percentage by 24 percent! Same workout routine of about 73 minutes a week, but big shift in eating … and now 29 percent less fat on me.

Adding muscle, losing fat

All that weight I just lost? Pure fat.

In the 90 days I’ve been on the Slow-Carb Diet, I actually gained a half-pound of muscle.

And to show I’m serious about sticking to my diet, I’ve listed all 70 yummy fattening foods I had on my 14 cheat days …

I don’t think I’ve eaten this much of one or the other in my entire life.

Each day, I have 8 oz. of black beans or pinto beans as part of the Slow-Carb Diet. And another 8 oz. of lentils. They are easy to prepare, store and reheat in the microwave oven. A dash of salt, and they’re ready.

I eat a lot more veggies these days, some fresh and most frozen: spinach, broccoli, carrots, peas, green beans. Again, dump in a bowl and heat/steam in the microwave oven.

That is a huge win in terms of convenience and nutrition.

I’m surprised how quickly I adjusted. I wasn’t a big fan of cauliflower before, but I enjoy it each time. Same with the mountain of beans I tear through each week.

I do miss rice during the week. I used to make it regularly in my rice cooker and eat it with many meals.

I miss waffles and toast and sandwiches and potatoes, as well as fruit and sweets. But I make up for all of that on cheat days wholeheartedly. I’ve probably eaten more doughnuts in 2 months than in the last 5 years.

I say no a lot. To beer, to sampling, to appetizers and much more. I’m strict about staying away from forbidden foods 6 days a week.

It has paid off. The first 9 weeks of the Slow-Carb Diet saw a loss of 9 pounds. (This week is skewed, because I had my cheat day on Thanksgiving, the day before — instead of after — my weighing. It should be back to normal by the next weighing.)

In a few weeks, I’ll return to the Bod Pod to see if my body fat percentage has also dropped.

My kettlebell workouts continue to improve, but I’m flat in my other exercises. I hope it’s not related to diet, but perhaps it’s an unavoidable trade-off.

I eat well and in good but not huge quantities. I enjoy my cheat days, and I also enjoy the return to routine on Sundays. And I don’t feel the need (yet) to go all out in preparing fancier meals to head off boredom.

•

November’s average workout time was 25 minutes and 25 seconds.

I averaged 2,130 calories a day in November. I also had 130 g protein a day on average.

The project has cost me $770.99 so far. I spent $129.10 more on food in November compared to previous monthly averages.

I will know at the end of the year if I’m becoming leaner or just lesser. I do know that I’m still growing stronger in my lifting.

So while I may not be as bulky, I may remain shapelier.

Weight through October 2013

Most days, my meals are routine and boring. Breakfast is a bowl of spinach spiked with flaxseed oil and lemon juice, along with a couple of hard-boiled eggs and lentils. I prepare meats in the slow cooker, and everything else from freezer or fridge to microwave oven.

On cheat days, I work on two things: Hitting my minimum requirement of protein, and eating as many calories as I can. I’m lucky if I can get near 4,000, but that’s actual work.

The freezer is stuffed with doughnuts, and I usually grab some junk food on Fridays in anticipation. I also get takeout on those Saturday cheat days, since I don’t have too many forbidden foods in the kitchen.

What hasn’t changed is my careful attention to numbers. I try to eat on schedule. I haven’t hit my old daily average of 2,100 calories, which is why I make up for it on Saturdays as best I can.

I don’t feel any different than before, and my food dreaming has stopped. It has been a fairly easy transition.

I look forward to the next 2 months to see how big a loser I can be.

•

October’s average workout time was 26 minutes and 18 seconds.

I averaged 1,899 calories a day in October. I also had 130 g protein a day on average.

The project has cost me $641.89 so far. I spent $8.16 more on food in October compared to previous monthly averages.

A little over a week ago, I reset my diet to lose as much fat as possible.

Two days ago, I ate like a pig.

Both steps are part of the master plan.

After a year of working on building muscle and gaining weight through advice in “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links], I have adjusted my goal. I’ve gained 10 pounds of muscle, but also 10 pounds of fat. This has elevated my body fat percentage to an even unhealthier level, 26.8 percent.

I wonder if I can reduce my body fat percentage to 15 percent while maintaining (or even growing) my muscles.

The biggest challenge has been trying to hit my daily minimum of 2,100 calories. I’m getting my 130g of protein each day, but eating enough broccoli or lentils for calories has been a chore. Usually, I’ll round it out with peanuts at day’s end (though I found out nuts should be limited to five to 10 daily).

(You’re not supposed to count calories on this diet, but I do so to make sure I’m getting sufficient food each day.)

The weirdest side effect: I now dream routinely about food. I’ll dream about eating chocolate cake, or rushing through a meal. It’s strange.

The cheat day was pretty easy.

I had three doughnuts and an orange. Plus a hot dog, bacon cheeseburger and half a bag of Doritos. And a slice of wild blueberry white chocolate cheesecake. I felt bad about going so low on protein, so I also had a baked chicken breast (not pictured). I ate myself sick.

Project Bulk has given me a focus for exercise and for eating. It gave me direction on how to reshape my body over time.

I didn’t know how long it would take me to add 10 pounds of lean mass. I thought it might take 3 months, but instead it took 11.

I didn’t know if it would make me “fat.” While I added 9 pounds of fat, it has been evenly distributed.

If you don’t see it, that’s OK. I don’t see it either, and I pore over the photos very closely. I do see most of the change in my upper arms from the side; to me, my arms are clearly bigger.

My upper legs are bigger, too, though I didn’t consider that when shooting the photos, which all show me from the waist up.

And I do see it in the numbers. I’m nearly 20 percent heavier than a year ago, and 12 percent bigger in total inches.

I feel it in subtle ways. A better posture. More confidence in taking on tougher projects. More power in lifting heavy objects. Liking my body image a little more.

It took very little effort on my part. I worked out for 51 hours and 28 minutes total for the year, averaging out to under an hour a week. If anything, far more time went into shooting my daily photos and counting calories for every meal and snack.

(Some people have asked me why I don’t work out more. By doing this bare minimum, I know I can sustain a routine of lifting 60 to 90 minutes a week far into the future. Can you make time for exercising 1 hour a week if it makes you look better?)

I was never certain it could be done until a few months in. Even then, I wasn’t always sure I was on the right path. I still had options on how much to eat and which exercises to focus on. I went through trial and error several times.

Self-doubt can be a killer. You wonder why you spend all the time exercising and measuring food portions. You step on the scale wondering if the numbers are gonna go your way. You find yourself struggling with whether it’s ever going to happen.

Self-doubt will kill your dreams and your momentum in a heartbeat. That’s why we have exercise and diet partners. That’s why I charted progress in numbers and photos. That’s why I made adjustments when I wasn’t satisfied with results.

I wrestled with that doubt from time to time. I will continue to wrestle with it, but I know the outcome.

The end isn’t really the end. After a year, I’m ready to focus harder on dropping my body fat percentage. My Bodpod test on Wednesday revealed my current level to be 26.8 percent, nearly the same as it was in April.

I increased it by 3.3 percentage points over the past year, and it remains in the poor range for men my age. My goal is to drop it by 10 percentage points into the excellent range while maintaining or increasing my lean mass.

I don’t know how long it will take. It might take 5 years, it might take 5 months. Once again, I am exploring the unknown.

I strongly encourage you to read “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon |iTunes aff. links] by Tim Ferriss. It offers unconventional advice on not only gaining weight, but losing weight. If anything, you’ll at least get a laugh out of it.

In talking with friends and strangers over the year, I have seen the skepticism on their faces and heard it in their questions. I can offer only one man’s limited experience, one that is still in progress.

But in reshaping yourself, all I can suggest is that you try, and keep trying. You hold yourself accountable, or do it publicly and let the world hold you accountable. I made mistakes, but they weren’t fatal. When you screw up, keep going.

I never thought I’d be anything more than a 120-pound scrawny weakling. I imagined that as I got older, I might get paunchier at best. Instead, I have set myself on a lifelong journey to make me as vigorous and bulky as possible on a lazy course of action.

I hope you will chart your own course and smile whenever you look in the mirror, too.

•

August’s average workout time was 26 minutes and 18 seconds.

I averaged 2,144 calories a day in August. I also had 136 g protein a day on average.

The project has cost me $668.67 so far. I spent $12.25 more on food in August compared to previous monthly averages.

I have had ups and downs these 11 months. Each time I veered off course, I steered back to the middle.

I admire the paleo dieters and the CrossFit warriors. They are spending the time and money to reach their goals efficiently.

I am cheap and lazy. I like working out in my home, near my home office. I like figuring out the least possible amount to do and still make some kind of measurable progress.

In comparing notes with others who started working out in the past 11 months, I see their ups and downs. Ups in terms of visible success: pounds lost, muscles gained, stamina improved. Downs in terms of injuries, depression, setbacks, weight gain, binges, time crunches.

I took away my excuses. I like to eat. I like to measure. I can squeeze in 70 minutes of exercise a week. I don’t mind smelling like the gym in my own home.

I did the absolute bare minimum. It’s more than I did before, but not so much that my busy schedule can’t accommodate it.

I took each down and pushed myself back up. I believe I had strong self-discipline before Project Bulk, but this has renewed my faith in it.

And the end result has been many more ups than downs in these 11 months.

•

July’s average workout time was 25 minutes and 59 seconds, shorter than June and May.

I averaged 2,175 calories a day in July. I also had 133 g protein a day on average.

The project has cost me $541.98 so far. I spent $176.08 more on food in July compared to previous monthly averages.